Tiny Pirate Papers Amid
Blackbeard's Sunken Treasure

Researchers, divers and art conservators—including a team from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation—have discovered and analyzed paper fragments retrieved from the shipwreck North Carolina archaeologists say is the Queen Anne's Revenge, flagship of an 18th-century pirate whose name sent a chill into the bone marrow of anyone whose path might cross his.

Left to right, graduate student Wayne Treible, computer and information sciences professor Chandra Kambhamettu, and postdoctoral fellow Philip Saponaro show the virtual reality technology they are refining.

Detecting Hidden Threats

Soldiers in combat have to constantly scan their surroundings for improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a signature weapon of modern warfare. These homemade bombs are often hidden—nestled in bushes, buried underground, or sometimes stuffed inside other objects. Now, a research group at the University of Delaware is developing technology to detect explosive devices from a distance.